Iowa abortion ban temporarily blocked by state court

Iowa’s new abortion ban was temporarily blocked from taking effect on Monday, restoring access to abortion in the state while the lawsuit moves forward.

Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin ruled that a lawsuit by abortion providers is likely to succeed, and the temporary injunction will remain in place for the duration of the lawsuit.

“The court will grant the temporary injunction requested here,” Seidlin wrote. “In doing so, it recognizes that there are good, honorable and intelligent people – morally, politically and legally – on both sides of this upsetting societal and constitutional dilemma.”

“The court believes it must follow current Iowa Supreme Court precedent and preserve the status quo ante while this litigation … moves forward,” Seidlin wrote.

The lawsuit was filed by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the Emma Goldman Clinic, and the ACLU of Iowa. They argued that the abortion ban was not constitutional under Iowa law.

Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed the sweeping legislation into law Friday at the Family Leadership Summit, an evangelical conference attended by several Republican presidential candidates.

The law would ban almost all abortions after the detection of fetal cardiac activity, which is usually six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant. There are some exceptions for rape, incest and fetal abnormalities.

Prior to the law, abortion was legal in the state up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.

The state passed a nearly identical version of the law in 2018, but it was halted by a court because Roe v. Wade was still in effect. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe last summer, Reynolds asked a district court to allow that law to take effect.

When the court declined, she appealed to the state Supreme Court, which deadlocked 3-3, leaving the 22-week limit in place.

Reynolds then called the GOP-led state legislature into a special session last week for the sole purpose of passing the ban.